SIGHT & SOUND OF FALSE TEACHERS (PART I)
By Akin Ojumu
By the time Apostle Peter writes his second Epistle to the Christians in the diaspora, he is already imprisoned in Rome by the emperor Nero who, at this time, is inflicting severe persecution on the Christians.
Realizing the end is near and that he’d soon be executed, he decides to write another letter to the believers after the first one he had written to them earlier. This second letter is to confirm what they had been taught about the Lord Jesus.
In his first letter, Peter had reassured the suffering Christians, going through persecution under Emperor Nero, about the imminent return of Christ. Now because Christ hasn’t returned, imminently, as promised by Peter in his first letter, false teachers in the Church start to teach the people that Jesus isn’t coming back after all.
Since Christ isn’t returning, say the false teachers, there’s not going to be any future repercussions for anyone living immorally. Knowing there’s not going to be any punishment for lasciviousness, the false teachers tell the people that it’s perfectly okay to indulge in all kinds of carnality, depravity and immorality. Their motto is something to the effect of, “You’ve got only got one life to live, so live it to your heart’s content.”
Concerned about the damage the false teachers are doing to the Church, especially to those whose faith is weak, Peter pens his second Epistle which paints in vivid imagery the characteristic traits of false teachers and the punishment that awaits them. With righteous indignation and in acerbic tone, Peter outlines the particularities of false teachers.
In this commentary series, we’ll examine some of these defining attributes of false teachers and their pernicious influence on the Church. As we go through these traits of charlatans, it’ll become quickly obvious that nothing has changed about them. What they were in the First Century Church is still what they are in the 21st Century Church.
1) Lustful and Arrogant
2 Peter 2:10
“And especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority…”
False teachers share a lot of similarities with the wicked people of Sodom and Gomorrah. They are slaves to the cravings and corrupt desires of the flesh.
On the outside, false teachers may appear to identify with Christ, but, inwardly, they are rebellious animals who would not submit to the lordship of Christ. While they profess love for God and His laws, their heart is far from Him, as shown in the way they twist and misrepresent His Word.
2) Daring and Self-Willed
2 Peter 2:10
“Bold and willful…”
False teachers are braggadocios with a false sense of self-importance. They are recklessly brazen, needlessly audacious, and heedlessly daring. They are self-willed and obstinately set in their foolish ways.
False teachers are windbags with a bloated sense of self-importance. These blowhards have notoriously fragile egos and can’t help but keep feeding their insatiable sense of self-worth with fantastical whoppers of celestial escapades.
3) Ridicule and Blaspheme Angelic Authorities
2 Peter 2:10
“…They do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones…”
Here, Peter tells us that false teachers entertain no restraint whatsoever as they ridicule and revile the glorious ones.
The glorious ones, aka angelic majesties, referred to here are the fallen angels; these are the principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places mentioned in Ephesians 6:12.
What false teachers fail to understand is that these angelic beings have a level of existence in the supernatural realm that gives them a certain dignity and transcendence quality that is beyond humanity.
Because a certain honor belongs to supernatural beings who transcend time, it is a grave mistake to treat Satan and his angels with flippancy or levity. When it comes to demonic forces and their activities, there can’t be any frivolity or triviality.
Yet, this is exactly what false teachers are known to do. In their ignorance, they rail against Satan and his demons, raining curses and insults on them. Claiming to have power and authority over demons, they boastfully go about binding and loosing them everywhere they go.
Even the holy angels of God, who are much stronger and far more powerful than us puny humans, are careful not to interact with these fallen angels in the same cavalier attitude of false teachers.
Next time, we’ll look at the other traits of false teachers.
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